Man who led Comal, Hays officers on chase dies

SAN ANTONIO — A man who took his ex-girlfriend hostage at gunpoint and then led authorities on a three-county chase in a stolen police car was shot and killed by the Hays County SWAT team Friday morning, officials said.

Bulverde Police Chief Gary Haecker said the 22-year-old, who isn't being identified until his family is notified, recently had a break-up with his 19-year-old girlfriend.

About 1 a.m., as she was preparing for Black Friday shoppers at her place of employment, he went inside and kidnapped her at gunpoint, he said.

Witnesses called police and pointed officers in the direction the man had fled. He was found by a Bulverde police officer, crouched behind a trash bin with his ex-girlfriend.

“The (man) walked toward the officer and fired at him with a handgun,” a news release states, and then he “pushed the victim into the officer's patrol vehicle and fled the scene traveling east on Highway 46.”

Haecker said it's unclear exactly what pushed the man to take the woman hostage, saying just that a “domestic situation,” and recent break-up preceded the series of events that ended with his death.

The chase spanned about 60 miles and speeds of 100 mph were reached, authorities said.

At different times during the chase, officers from the Bulverde, Kyle and San Marcos police departments were involved, alongside the Hays and Comal County sheriff's deputies.

The 22-year-old fired a .40-caliber handgun at officers several times during the chase, but no one was injured, there was no property damage as a result, and no other vehicles were involved, Deputy Stephen Traeger with the Hays County Sheriff's Office said.

At Highway 21 and FM 2001 — on the county line dividing Hays from Caldwell County — the man crashed the cop car into a parking lot after running into a police barricade.

Traeger said the SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were on scene and attempts were made to peacefully resolve the issue with the man for 15 minutes.

“At certain points, he did point his weapon at officers and at the female passenger, pointing it toward her head and threatening to kill her,” Traeger said. “At that point, the SWAT team did shoot him twice, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.”